On October 29, the MSI hospital ship project built by CSSC Guangzhou Shipyard International Co., Ltd. for the international charity organization Mercy Ships International (hereinafter referred to as “Mercy Ships”) commenced construction.
The commencement of the MSI hospital ship project marks another milestone in the deepened cooperation between CSSC Guangzhou Shipyard International and Mercy Ships. The project was officially contracted in April 2024, aiming to create a “mobile medical center” integrating medical treatment, education, and living functions for areas in Africa lacking medical resources. The two parties held a project kick-off meeting in June 2024, clarifying the construction goals and cooperation mechanism. This commencement signifies the ship’s entry into the substantive construction phase.
The total length of this hospital ship is 174.1 meters, the beam is 28.6 meters, the structural draft is 6.4 meters, the service speed is 12 knots, and it can carry 500 passengers. Its core functional areas cover professional medical facilities such as laboratories, general outpatient clinics, ophthalmology clinics, dental clinics, CT scanning rooms, operating rooms, ICU wards, inpatient departments, and nursing stations, and are equipped with living and educational spaces like schools, restaurants, libraries, and cinemas, truly realizing the composite value of “medical care + public welfare.” Upon completion, it will become a mobile “Ark of Life” in Africa, providing efficient medical services to local residents and helping to improve the basic healthcare system.
It is reported that the MSI hospital ship is expected to be completed within two years. After completion, it will be handed over to Mercy Ships for operation, shuttling year-round to areas in Africa with the most urgent medical needs, bringing health and hope to the local people.
In his speech, Zhou Xuhui, Director and General Manager of Guangzhou Shipyard International, stated that since its establishment in 1978, Mercy Ships has, for nearly fifty years, used the sea as a bridge to deliver top-tier medical care free of charge to the areas most in need, interpreting “the benevolence of healers and boundless great love” through action; the newbuilding project manager Jim Paterson and his wife, with nearly forty years of persistent charitable dedication, have become a vivid footnote to the spirit of Mercy Ships. Since partnering with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company in 2018, Guangzhou Shipyard International and MSC have repeatedly achieved breakthroughs in the field of high-end ships. MSC’s charitable act of donating 50% of the construction funds for this project demonstrates the responsibility of “great enterprises warming the world.”
